The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency is pulling out its team that responded to the Mauna Loa eruption now that the lava has stopped flowing, according to a news release.

HI-EMA will shift its focus to assessing the damage from the volcano to see if the state might receive federal disaster assistance.

“Some forms of federal aid are only available if Hawai‘i pursues a major disaster declaration, and that requires proof that the State and Hawai‘i County incurred certain threshold costs for protective measures, damages and impacts,” said Luke Meyers, HI-EMA administrator, in a news release. “The damage information we’re collecting from our partners will be used to determine what kinds of federal assistance and reimbursement might be available.”

What You Need To Know

  • HI-EMA teams are returning to headquarters in the Diamond Head crater

  • The emergency operation center will be completely deactivated by Saturday

  • The focus is shifting to collecting information so that the state can decide whether to apply for FEMA programs for assistance or reimbursement

  • In order to be reimbursed through a federal Major Disaster Declaration, a minimum cost of about $890,000 for Hawaii County and $2.58 million for the State would be needed to qualify

The eruption started around midnight on Nov. 27. As soon as the lava started flowing, Hawaii County agencies and others started working by establishing emergency shelters, watching for road damage, monitoring the air quality, flying over the lava to observe its path, and deploying 20 Hawaii National Guard personnel to prevent trespassing and injuries. 

On Nov. 28 at 1 a.m., HI-EMA activated its emergency operation center. At the beginning of December, HI-EMA deployed a four-person team to support the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency's efforts in responding to the ongoing Mauna Loa eruption. Throughout the two-week emergency, multiple teams were deployed and rotated back to HI-EMA. 

Now that the eruption is over, HI-EMA teams are returning to headquarters in the Diamond Head crater, while the emergency operation center will be completely deactivated by Saturday. 

The focus is now shifting to collecting information so that the state can decide whether to apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency programs for assistance or reimbursement. 

In order to be reimbursed through a federal Major Disaster Declaration, a minimum cost of about $890,000 for Hawaii County and $2.58 million for the State would be needed to qualify.  

Meyers encouraged partner agencies to submit costs incurred during the emergency. 

“Fortunately, the Mauna Loa eruption wound up posing no direct lava threat to any of our communities, but it still caused substantial damage and our partners incurred costs to protect the public,” he said. “The federal government may be able to assist with those costs, but we have to do our homework now to determine that.”

Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her ideas and feedback at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com. 

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